Ten years have passed since “Firefly” — the sci-fi show that launched the careers of San Antonio's Summer Glau,Nathan Fillion (“Castle”), Morena Baccarin (“Homeland”) and others — met its end.

Only 14 episodes were made; “Firefly” was canceled in late 2002, within just three months of its fall debut.

Yet the series, a space Western set in 2517 about a renegade crew of outsiders and rebels who travel around on a firefly-class transport ship taking odd jobs to survive, continues to grow in popularity and excitement.

The continuing worship has been helped along, of course, by reruns and DVDs. It also didn't hurt that the series creator, Joss Whedon, later made a movie named for the series' ship — “Serenity” — which further inflamed its following.

So rare is this kind of devotion that the Science Channel reunited many of “Firefly's” original cast members for a 10-year anniversary special.

“Firefly: Browncoats Unite” premieres at 9 tonight on Science. (Browncoats, by the way, refers not only to former resistance soldiers on the ship, but also to the name adopted by hard-core fans of “Firefly.”)

On the hour-long special, we get an idea of the extreme passion that continues to surround the series. More than 10,000 fans gathered for the Science Channel reunion panel at Comic-Con last summer to greet the beloved cast and ardently cheer on Whedon.

“The story is alive!” Whedon exclaims. He then addresses the crowd with these emotional words: “When I see you guys, I don't think the show is off the air, I don't think there's a show, I think that's what the world is like.”

Clearly, many identified with the series' rag-tag group of travelers who fight to remain outside government control.

The core of tonight's special is a more private discussion, around a table, away from the fans. There, the show's writers, several of its male stars — Fillion, Alan Tudyk,Sean Maher, and Adam Baldwin — and one standout female (Glau) swap colorful stories about the short-lived series and the sci-fi phenomenon “Firefly” has become.

Right off the bat, Glau — who played the brilliant, damaged and, at times, violent River Tam — makes us giggle with a fun anecdote about Fillion.

Describing him first as handsome, then “a jerk,” she related her first meeting with the man who would play Mal Reynolds, Serenity's captain. When Fillion exited his audition, Glau said she asked him, “How'd it go?” Facing Fillion, she then reminded him of his flippant response: “You said, ‘Don't worry. I don't think we're going up for the same role.'”

That's just one sample of the many memories shared by the cast; also participating in the special are Gina Torres,Jewel Staite and Baccarin, who taped their recollections.

We even get some character developments that would have happened had “Firefly” not been snuffed out. For instance, Torres' first-mate character, Zoe, and her husband, Hoban (Tudyk), would have had a child. And it would have been revealed that the ship's paid “companion” Inara (Baccarin) was dying of a terminal illness.

I was never a big “Firefly” devotee before, but this special is so entertaining that I just may start my Sunday early to understand better what the gigantic fuss is all about. The Science Channel will precede tonight's special with an all-day marathon of “Firefly,” starting at 6 a.m.

Jeanne Jakle's column appears Wednesdays and Sundays in S.A. Life, and she blogs at Jakle's Jacuzzi on mySA.com. Email her at jjakle@express-news.net.